A biased look at psychology in the world

November 15, 2009

Protecting the Children (Part 1)

It's hard to say for sure when the Golden Age of comics books ended.

Since
the comic book format was first introduced in 1934, start-up companies
featuring legendary talents such as Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Bob Kane,
and Jerry Robinson quickly established themselves. Throughout the
late 1930s and 1940s, comic books sales boomed with the rise of popular
characters such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. While other
countries followed suit with their own comic book industries, U.S.
comic book companies tended to dominate the field. The comics industry
grew and adapted with changing world events. As the U.S. entered World
War II, comic book characters went to war in increasing numbers and the
rise of the Atomic age simply introduced new plot lines for the next
generation of comic book characters.

By the beginning of the
1950s however, the industry began to decline and new "grittier" comic
books were released which increasingly focused on horror and detective
dramas. It also marked the peak of the comics book boom with over 650
different titles being produced monthly by 1952 and millions of issues
being sold every year. While conservative factions had long protested
against the "evil" influence that comic books had on developing minds,
the increasingly violent content to be found in many of the horror- and
crime-oriented comics began to worry parents and educators alike.

That
same era also marked the rise of juvenile delinquency as a serious
concern in American society. Beginning in the years following World
War II, increased publicity about crimes being committed by (usually
male) youths generated considerable alarm and left child experts
scrambling for an explanation. While early criminologists pointed out
the probable role of family disruptions resulting from the war in
delinquent behaviour, parents and educators were often uncomfortable
with the blame falling so close to home. Hard questions began to be asked
about the role of mass media in violence, especially given the violent
content often found on radio (and later television) as well as comic
books. Could violent comic books play a role in delinquency?

The crusade against comic books was nothing new (comic book burnings at
conservative high schools had actually begun in the 1940s) but it took
Fredric Wertham to give it respectability. A German-born psychiatrist
who had moved to the U.S. in the 1920s, Wertham had established himself
as a prominent forensic psychiatrist (he had appeared as an expert
witness in the Albert Fish trial). He was also a prominent social
activist who developed an interest in the role of the media in
shaping violent behaviour.; Beginning in the 1940s, Wertham wrote a series of
books and articles on the influence of violent comic books on youth
violence. He specifically target comic books over other media
portrayals of violence since comics were written specifically for children. Other
forms of media violence managed to escape his wrath since they were
intended for audiences of all ages. For that reason, comic books
needed to meet a higher standard than other media. It didn't help that
the early comic book industry was almost completely unregulated with
none of the government agencies overseeing newspaper and radio content.

Some of
Wertham's early articles prompted attempts at self-censorship by
the comics book industry. Many comic book publishers formed their own
advisory boards with child psychiatrists weighing in on the impact of
violent content on children but that wasn't enough to appease Fredric
Wertham. He dismissed these advisory board members as "psycho-prima
donnas" who were obviously lacking in basic clinical experience with
children.As he later wrote, "The fact that some child psychiatrists
endorse comic books does not prove the healthy state of the comic
books. It only proves the unhealthy state of child psychiatry".

In 1954, Wertham published his most influential book, Seduction of the Innocent.
In his book, Wertham provided graphic descriptions of the violent
content that could be found in comic books. He specifically targeted
EC Comics with its extensive line of horror/crime comics (including the
Tales from the Crypt series). Along with his fairly valid
objections to the extreme violence depicted in comic books, Wertham
made some bizarre conclusions about the hidden sexual content to
be found as well. Not only did he denounce Wonder Woman for its
"lesbian" and bondage themes, but he also suggested that Batman and
Robin's relationship had homosexual overtones. Wertham also had harsh
words for the advertisements in comic books (offering items such as air
rifles, knives, and "x-ray glasses"). In his book, he concluded that,
"The time has come to legislate these books off the newstands and out
of candy stores".

Because of Wertham's book and his
credentials as an expert witness, he was called to testify before the
newly-formed U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. Then-chaired by Senator Estes Kefauver, the subcommittee held public
hearings that focused on "crime and horror" comic books and their
potential impact on juvenile delinquency. Fredric Wertham was hardly
the only expert witness called&to testify though. Other prominent
researchers, including Lauretta Bender and Frederic Thrasher disputed
the link between comic books and juvenile delinquency although
Wertham's higher media profile gave his testimony more weight.

There
was certainly little actual research on the supposed link between comic
book violence and juvenile delinquency. While studies into comic book
readership tended to find that most U.S children under the age of ten
read comics on a regular basis (with boys being more likely than girls
to prefer adventure comics).few studies found evidence that the books
were harmful. Some researchers reported that comic book readers
had a lower IQ than non-comic book readers although later researchers failed to replicate this result. The lack of empirical data didn't stop Wertham's
crusading.